Somachandra de Silva

Dandeniyage Somachandra de Silva (born 11 June 1942) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played Test and ODI cricket in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the first ODI cap for Sri Lanka. He bowled leg spin, and on the tour of Pakistan in 1982 he became the first Sri Lankan bowler to take five wickets in a Test innings.[1]

Somachandra de Silva
සෝමචන්ද්‍ර ද සිල්වා
Personal information
Full nameDandeniyage Somachandra de Silva
Born (1942-06-11) 11 June 1942
Galle, Sri Lanka
NicknameDS
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg break googly
RoleBatsman, wicket-keeper
RelationsHemachandra de Silva (brother)
Premachandra de Silva (brother)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 2)17 February 1982 v England
Last Test23 August 1984 v England
ODI debut (cap 1)7 June 1975 v West Indies
Last ODI27 February 1985 v West Indies
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODIs
Matches 12 41
Runs scored 406 371
Batting average 21.36 19.52
100s/50s 0/2 0/0
Top score 61 37*
Balls bowled 3,031 2,076
Wickets 37 32
Bowling average 36.40 48.65
5 wickets in innings 1 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 5/59 3/29
Catches/stumpings 5/0 5/0
Source: Cricinfo, 14 August 2016

Life and career

De Silva was educated at Mahinda College, Galle.[2][3] Somachandra's elder brothers D. H. de Silva and D. P. de Silva were also Ceylonese first-class cricketers.[4]

De Silva made his debut for Ceylon in 1966-67 and played in most Sri Lankan teams thereafter until the mid-1980s. He took part in the 1979 cricket World Cup where Sri Lanka recorded their first top-level international victory, beating India by 47 runs. De Silva took three wickets for 29, including Dilip Vengsarkar and Mohinder Amarnath, as India crashed to 191 all out. He took his best first-class figures on the 1979 tour of England when he took 4 for 13 and 8 for 46 in the innings victory over Oxford University.[5]

When Sri Lanka was finally awarded Test status, de Silva was nearing his forties, which naturally shortened his career. However, he played in Sri Lanka's first 12 Tests, before retiring at 42. He took his best figures in the Second Test against Pakistan at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, in March 1982, when he had figures of 4 for 103 and 5 for 59 and the match was drawn with Sri Lanka close to victory.[6] He captained the Sri Lankan cricket team for two Tests in 1983, as the regular captain, Duleep Mendis, missed the series in New Zealand due to injury. De Silva made two half-centuries while captain and took three wickets with tight bowling on pitches that did not suit his bowling style. However, New Zealand won the series 2-0.[7]

De Silva also played Minor Counties cricket for Lincolnshire and Shropshire between 1976 and 1983,[8] and later became a coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team. In 2009 he served as the interim chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket.[9]

References
  1. "Sri Lanka to Pakistan 1981-82". Test Cricket Tours. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  2. DS to take on Jaffna lads!
  3. Cambrians field a formidable team this year Archived 2013-06-20 at Archive.today
  4. D.H. was the best sporting Municipal Commissioner of Kandy Archived 2014-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Oxford University v Sri Lankans 1979". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  6. "2nd Test, Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan at Faisalabad, Mar 14-19 1982". Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  7. R. T. Brittenden, "The Sri Lankans in Australia and New Zealand, 1982-83", Wisden 1984, pp. 942–53.
  8. "Minor Counties Championship Matches played by Somachandra de Silva". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  9. Thawfeeq, Sa'adi (12 March 2009). "De Silva to head new SLC interim board". Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
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